Nintendo's an outlier, there's nothing really comparable to them even in the world of pop culture.
When Super Mario Bros. broke out and the Famicom/NES became a global phenomenon, like Michael Jackson, Prince, and Madonna were the biggest things around, Indiana Jones was like the "big" active movie IP, The Cosby Show was the biggest show on TV, etc. etc. etc.
When you look at how much has changed since then and now and yet Mario and Nintendo hardware are more popular than ever 40 years on ... that's unbelievable. Even things like Star Wars are certainly not in their peak popularity any longer today.
How many pop culture trends from the 1980s are more popular today than they were even in the 80s themselves? Nintendo is a rare breed and I don't think anyone can fully explain it. It's not just "good games", obviously that's part of it but it doesn't come close to explaining 40+ years of and arguably their popularity is still finding new peaks today.
Last edited by Soundwave - on 15 October 2025
